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Taking medication as prescribed shouldn’t be difficult. But when life gets busy, we might forget a dose, especially if taking medication is not a regular habit (yet). In some cases, missing a dose is not a big issue. In other cases, it can be life-threatening. So, if you are looking for a solution that helps you (or someone you care for) stick to your/their medication regime, this article might point you in the right direction. Over the last few months, I have tested several mobile apps that allow you to schedule and remind you to take your medication and reviewed one of them in detail – the Medisafe Meds and Pill Reminder app.
Before we go into the details, though, why would someone like me review medication reminder apps?
How did this review come about?
At the end of July 2020, my son Matt, who has cystic fibrosis, received new lungs. At age 26, Matt was given a new lease on life and a quality of life he had never had before (all thanks to the generous gift of his donor and their family). The transplant, though, also means that Matt will have to take immunosuppressant medication for the rest of his life.
While Matt was fortunate (if you can call it that) that he had been taking drugs all his life, his new medication regime is different and very complicated. Also, as a transplant recipient, he needed to adjust his lifestyle significantly to minimise the risk of infection.
When Matt was released from the hospital, he received a paper notebook to document all his drugs and when he took them. We knew right away: With up to 30% of transplant recipients reporting missing medication doses or non-adherence to their medication regime, a paper notebook wasn’t going to do the job. These missed doses can lead to serious problems, including acute rejection, chronic transplant damage and, ultimately, the failure of the organ. So, a better solution needed to be found.
Drug Adherence by Geography | Image and data courtesy of Medisafe
I have used an app called My Pain Diary and Symptom Tracker for several years. I considered this an option, but as I’d changed smartphone operating systems and My Pain Diary didn’t support it, I wanted to see what else was on the market. That’s how I stumbled upon the Medisafe Meds and Pill Reminder app (the Medisafe app, in short).
For full disclosure, after I identified the Medisafe app as the best contender, I reached out to Medisafe. They provided Matt and me with Premium Subscriptions, knowing I would write an unbiased review. Matt and I have been using the app ever since.
What app features did I consider to be important?
Before starting my research and narrowing down the options, I put together a list of features I felt were important:
- Scheduled reminders/notifications
- Reportability of data entered
- Good value for money
- Good customer reviews
- Available across multiple operating platforms (Windows, Android, iOS)
- Security, privacy and data protection (based on standards adhered to, encryption used, data storage policies, and ability to remain anonymous)
- Data sharing (none or depersonalised) and remote accessibility (through cloud storage)
- Regular bug fixes and feature upgrades
- Developer credibility (based on tenure, standards adhered to, and programming language).
Remembering to take your medication is a lot easier with a reminder app | Image courtesy of Olga DeLawrence on Unsplash
What apps made it onto my shortlist?
Using my criteria list, I identified the following apps (in alphabetical order), which I then tested (to the extent possible):
- CareClinic Symptom Tracker and Pill Reminder
- Flaredown by Logan Merriam
- Manage My Pain
- Medisafe Meds and Pill Reminder
- MyTherapy Meds and Pill Reminder
- PainScale By Boston Scientific Inc (not available in New Zealand)
- TeamScope by TeamScope B.V. (B2B).
Only one covered almost all my requirements: the Medisafe Meds and Pill Reminder app. Although it is not perfect, it was certainly much better than all the others. If you are looking for a medication reminder app, I can recommend the Medisafe app.
How does the Medisafe app work?
Set-Up
Firstly, you must add the medication you are taking or plan to take. When you enter the drug name, the app displays search results from its database. You can select the form of medication (for example, pill, solution, injection, drops, inhaler, etc.), strength (for example, g, IU, mcg, r, etc.), and what you are taking it for.
Using the generic drug name, you can search the Medisafe database
The Medisafe app steps you through the data needed when adding your medication.
Medisafe is smart enough to know the measurement types for each medication
Secondly, you need to indicate whether you take the medication every day or only as needed, how often, and at what time you take the first dose. You may have medication, vitamins or supplements (in your medicine cabinet) that you only take occasionally, such as headache tablets. Make sure you add those to the app. If you take it, you can record it quickly and efficiently as an As-needed dose.
Medisafe is extremely flexible with its frequency options
Different prompts appear depending on your responses on each page
You can also choose the classical set-up based on time of day
Finally, you can select the actual time for each dosage reminder. You can also customise reminders by choosing from a list of 14 voices (including Darth Vader or Morgan Freeman). The app also allows you to change the medication icon, add instructions, limit the treatment duration, and set up refill reminders.
Want Darth Vader or Morgan Freeman to remind you to take your medication?
Create icons that match the shape and color of your pills
Add extra information about your medication in the Medisafe app
Drug Database
The Medisafe drug database is comprehensive, containing both over-the-counter and prescription drugs. That said, if the drug you are taking is not in the database, you can manually add the name yourself. In our case, the drug database occasionally has US-based drug names, so you have to search for the generic or common name of the drug, and even then, it is not always there.
For drugs in the database, an information page outlines in plain English
- potential interactions with the specific medicine
- what happens if I miss a dose
- what I should watch for while using the medicine, and
- potential side effects?
Drug information is shown for all drugs stored in the Medisafe database
Complex Dose Schedule
One feature where many other medication apps struggle is dose schedule flexibility. With Medisafe, you can select frequencies such as how many times a day (up to 12 times), every number of hours (from 1 to 12 hours), for a specific number of days, on a particular day of the week and more. I have yet to come across a schedule that the Medisafe app can’t accommodate.
US customers seem alerted when their prescribed medications should not be taken together. This is a powerful feature, but unfortunately, I couldn’t test it as I am currently in New Zealand.
US customers are alerted of drug interactions | Image courtesy of Medisafe
Dosage Reminder
One of the app’s best features is that it sends reminders to your mobile phone (make sure your mobile phone is set up to receive notifications). You can take your medication (and record it), skip it or snooze the reminder. I have set mine up so that the notification requires action before I can use my other phone functions.
The app allows you to set a different time to take your medication on the weekend. This is very thoughtful for those who like to sleep in. If you change time zones, the app recognizes your location and alters the time accordingly, which is even more thoughtful.
Another powerful feature of the app is its ability to send a missed medication notification to your Medfriend – whom you share your data with. If you forget to take a medication (or forget to record it in the app), Medisafe will notify your Medfriend so that they can remind you to take your medication. It is a good backup, especially as you get used to a new medication regime. Your Medfriend would need to download the Medisafe app and create an account in order to sync with you. And you both need to have an internet connection for the information to sync.
Medisafe notifications on your mobile phone are hard to ignore
You can't skip a medication dose without recording the reason
Refill Reminder
When you initially add medication to the app, you can select the number of doses available. When the doses reach a specific amount (of your choosing), you will be reminded to refill them. Matt set his refill reminder to 10 days before he runs out, but everyone’s situation will be different.
Doctor’s Appointments
The app allows you to add your Doctor’s details, the medication they have prescribed you, and any appointments you have with them. This level of detail is excellent if you have a team of medical experts managing your health (and medication).
Enter your doctor's details, then assign appointments and prescriptions
Drug Reporting
Any platform or database service loses its appeal if you can’t share information, and this is where the Medisafe app itself could do better. The app’s reporting functionality is not easy to navigate:
- There is a report page, but from here, you can only export data to Excel (for all medications or a specific one in a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual report format).
- From the measurements page, you can create a status report (in PDF format) and select the recipient you wish to send it to – yourself or your nominated doctor (if you allow access to your contacts and email account). Select the From/To dates and medications you want to include for this report. The report is sent instantly and incorporates your adherence (whether you have taken or missed medication) and any notes associated with your schedule.
Although not prominently promoted, there is a desktop browser version, and here, you show/hide scheduled and added doses and measurements as well as filter by seven variables, all the while being able to download the data as a PDF or email to a recipient.
If you want to export any data from what you entered, use the Medisafe Patient Portal, as the reports here are much more comprehensive. To access it, use the credentials you used to access the smartphone app and the web browser.
Send a comprehensive report to your doctor directly from the Medisafe app | Image courtesy of National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Health Measurement Tracking
For many illnesses, it’s important to record not only the medication taken but also specific health statistics such as blood pressure, blood glucose, pain levels, oxygen saturation (Sp02), temperature, and weight. The Medisafe app allows you to record 20+ different measurements.
Privacy And Data Security
While it is always difficult to verify, Medisafe advises that they are HIPAA-compliant, GDPR-compliant, ISO 27001 certified and utilize the highest-available 256-bit data encryption. Upholding these credentials as their standards means they show a duty of care towards their users and the data entrusted to them.
The personal information you input into the app is unique and belongs to you. If your medical data was ever leaked, someone could use it for their gain, to cause financial loss or harm your reputation. And it is very different from economic data, which is better protected and regulated. For example, if your credit card number was lost or stolen, you could block that number and have a new credit card issued.
If you decide to download the app, read the Medisafe App privacy policy and terms and conditions of use. If you are not happy don’t use the app.
Web-Based Patient Portal
As mentioned, there is a desktop browser version, but it is primarily limited to view and report functionality. You cannot fully manage, edit, or change your meds there. As explained by Brian Carr, VP of Medisafe, these functions are app-centric to have a single source of truth as it were to prevent the possibility of under or overdosing when tracked in multiple instances.
With the Web Portal, it’s easier to:
- View your medication list and adherence history
- Filter and sort the reports
- Focus only on what you need
- See all your medications, measurements, and appointments in the calendar
- Share your reports with your trusted medical advisor.
My Objective Review
Overall RatingRating 4.5 out of 5 stars
This great all-around app has extensive features that are not always immediately obvious. As a free app, it fulfils the needs of the average medication taker, but the premium version allows you to collect a lot more data.
It is not a pain management app, so it does not have the features you may require if you suffer from chronic pain. That said, pain levels can be recorded as one of the measurements.
Medication ManagementRating 4.5 out of 5 stars
When you start adding your medication, the app guides you through its data collection process. While you can choose the form and create an icon for the medication, the app does not allow you to take a photo of the pill or the medication packaging.
AdherenceRating 5 out of 5 stars
One of the app’s strongest features is its ability to enforce adherence through mobile technology. When you open the app, the screen displays today’s medication schedule. You can easily tell which medication has been taken (or missed) using strong colour coding and images. Of course, it requires that you set up your medication and reminders correctly in the first place.
User ExperienceRating 4.5 out of 5 stars
The app is not the most intuitive. When you first open the app, it is not immediately clear what you are meant to be doing. That said, once you start adding medications it does lead you through the process step by step.
Also, some of the app’s features are not obvious. For example, the status report is not accessible through the reports page but through the measurements page. It is not apparent on the measurements page where you created the report. You have to play around a bit to understand the app.
Other improvement opportunities include searching FAQs and syncing doctors’ appointments with any email system.
ConnectivityRating 4 out of 5 stars
As Matt’s Medfriend, I receive notifications when he misses a dose (or forgets to record it in the app). We experienced delays of up to 4 hours between the time he was expected to take the medication and my receiving the notification. If he indeed forgot to take his medication, such a delay could be dangerous.
He uses an iPhone and I have an Android phone, but that shouldn’t matter. This is another functionality the Medisafe app can (and needs) to improve upon.
Pros
- Reasonably comprehensive free version (though for more complex needs, the Premium version is recommended)
- Great for diabetics as you can record your blood sugar in Measurements and add insulin as an As-Needed medication
- The home screen timeline shows medication reminders and medical appointments
- Smartwatch users can see the medication reminder and record responses on their watch
Cons
- Doctor’s appointments only sync with Gmail
- Although the Help and Support section offers a large Frequently Asked Questions section, there is no search functionality so you need to scroll through the list of questions to see if the answer is there
- Can’t add an image to a medication or create a stand-alone report of notes
- Unable to disable specific notifications such as summary reports, rare medication information, etc (although it is on the feature request list)
- Can’t add custom values to Measurements (although it is on the feature request list)
Beta User Version
You can enrol in the beta program via the Google Play or Apple Apps Download page if you want access to upcoming features before they are officially released. Alternatively, you can quickly return to the thoroughly tested regular apps.
How much does the Medisafe app cost?
| Term / Plan | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | USD0 | USD4.99 |
| Annual | USD0 | USD39.99 |
How do the app’s free and premium features compare?
The Medisafe app’s free version is already comprehensive. For our purposes, the value of the Premium version was its ability to capture unlimited measurements
| Free | Premium |
|---|---|
| No registration is required | All Free features plus (i) access to more theme colors, (ii) ability to change medication icon, (iii) priority support and (iv) no banner ads |
| Ability to capture 27 standard measurements | Ability to capture unlimited measurements |
| One Medfriend | Unlimited Medfriends |
| Receive up to 10 reminders per medication | Same |
| Alter notification times on weekends | Same |
| Snooze for 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes, or until home/work (whenever you are reminded) | Same |
| Must record reason if medication is skipped | Same |
| Save locations to re-send snoozed reminders once at home/work | Same |
| Display notifications as popups, only when screen is on or not at all | Same |
| Set reminder text at a global level | Same |
| Set vibrate for reminders | Same |
| Show or hide medication name when receiving a reminder | Same |
| Set a daily reminder to take medications with you when you leave home | Same |
| Receive a daily reminder of any missed medications during the day | Same |
| Receive a weekly summary of medications | Same |
| Set refill reminder based on the number of pills remaining | Same |
| Automatic time zone detection | Same |
Download the app
Do you use the Medisafe app?
If so, what has been your experience? If not, which app do you use and why?
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